The mood at the Stadio Olimpico was decidedly gloomy this past Saturday. The home side was losing against Torino, an opponent that had conceded a total of 10 goals while netting just two in their previous five league matches. Ultras from the Curva Nord were wrapping up their most recent demonstration in a long-running conflict with club owner Claudio Lotito.
This Year's Efforts Unraveling?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or did there exist any cohesion maintaining its structure to start with? They reappointed Maurizio Sarri to lead the team in the summer transfer window, only for him admitted that the club had not mentioned a ban on new signings they were facing for accounting issues. Rumours that he might quit were without basis, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "swindled" him.
The Roman club appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as behind the scenes, defeating Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but being defeated in the rest of their opening fixtures, including the Rome derby. From one game to the next, it has been hard to tell if they are improving or collapsing.
Matteo's Unexpected Comeback
A single player remained positive through it. Matteo Cancellieri wasn't originally meant to remain with Lazio this year. He was on last season on loan at Parma and, early this summer, his owning club were pushing for him to stay there for another season. The signing restriction necessitated a reconsideration. They were unable to reduce their roster without replacements.
He joined initially when Sarri was last in charge, then a 20-year-old graduate of Verona's academy. He made 20 Serie A appearances for Lazio in that campaign, all but one of those from the bench. The ex- sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed following that term, subsequently claimed Sarri of "promising everyone Cancellieri would be a star only to bench him consistently."
Finding His Best Role
It's possible the coach was continuing to attempt to identify the nature of Cancellieri's abilities. Labeled as a wide forward on arrival, Cancellieri nevertheless spent much of that season as an ineffective backup to Ciro Immobile in the striker role. Across 63 games on loan at Empoli and Parma over the last two seasons, he scored seven times. Shoehorn
